My teaching philosophy is ever-evolving and multi-dimensional. My outlook on teaching is to always help a student grow as an individual, regardless of their science background or knowledge. My philosophy of how students learn, as a whole, is based on exploration and inquiry.
Learning is not just the transfer of facts from teacher to student; it is the exchanging of facts, ideas, and questions between everyone whom interacts in society. I use this view of learning in my classroom to promote understanding and interest in science. My goals as a science teacher are to help my students become engaged and enthusiastic about learning, not only as students, but as future scientists. Because I believe so strongly that the knowledge and investigation of science is important in society, I teach my students to be cognitive and question everything, as a scientist should.
Teaching adolescents to question the world around them seems to correspond to their stage in mental and social development. If you tell them something, they need the evidence before they will accept different ideas. Scientists are similar in that way, and idea is just an idea until it is supported by investigations and evidence. A large part of the application of science knowledge is working with others to hypothesize and problem solve. Being able to speak the “science language” and terminology is important in communicating ideas; however the ability to work cooperatively in groups is a skill that I believe makes a successful scientist. I not only want to foster the scientist within each student, but I want to strengthen each student to be a well rounded, self confident individual. Not only do the adolescents in my class get time to bounce ideas off one another, but they learn a valuable skill of listening to others' ideas as well as their own. The science discussion with their peers helps adolescent students make sense of the information and make connections to their personal experiences. Because much of the science information they are learning about may seem foreign, it helps for the students to have that information in common with another student, even if they have only shared the learning process.
A science teacher should not only be one of the many sources of information, but also someone who instigates questioning and curiosity about the subjects being learned, as well as the world. All great scientists receive help or support of some kind, whether it is support by opposition or just someone being there for them to speak their ideas to. As a science teacher of adolescents, I want my students to enjoy learning about science; however I want them to enjoy the investigative process of science. Therefore, I provide my students with many resources, and allow them to make their own hypotheses. If all scientists were just fed information, I might be teaching my students that the world is flat.
Questioning and exploring is the backbone of science, and is the basis of what I want my students to learn. Motivation to learn can not be forced upon a student, however my stealth objective is to convince all my students that science and learning about new things can be great fun. I believe that when a student is having fun, they are then motivated to have more fun, in this case, learn more! With each individual student, my teaching philosophy may evolve, however my dedication toward teaching the individual and learning myself does not waiver.
Learning is not just the transfer of facts from teacher to student; it is the exchanging of facts, ideas, and questions between everyone whom interacts in society. I use this view of learning in my classroom to promote understanding and interest in science. My goals as a science teacher are to help my students become engaged and enthusiastic about learning, not only as students, but as future scientists. Because I believe so strongly that the knowledge and investigation of science is important in society, I teach my students to be cognitive and question everything, as a scientist should.
Teaching adolescents to question the world around them seems to correspond to their stage in mental and social development. If you tell them something, they need the evidence before they will accept different ideas. Scientists are similar in that way, and idea is just an idea until it is supported by investigations and evidence. A large part of the application of science knowledge is working with others to hypothesize and problem solve. Being able to speak the “science language” and terminology is important in communicating ideas; however the ability to work cooperatively in groups is a skill that I believe makes a successful scientist. I not only want to foster the scientist within each student, but I want to strengthen each student to be a well rounded, self confident individual. Not only do the adolescents in my class get time to bounce ideas off one another, but they learn a valuable skill of listening to others' ideas as well as their own. The science discussion with their peers helps adolescent students make sense of the information and make connections to their personal experiences. Because much of the science information they are learning about may seem foreign, it helps for the students to have that information in common with another student, even if they have only shared the learning process.
A science teacher should not only be one of the many sources of information, but also someone who instigates questioning and curiosity about the subjects being learned, as well as the world. All great scientists receive help or support of some kind, whether it is support by opposition or just someone being there for them to speak their ideas to. As a science teacher of adolescents, I want my students to enjoy learning about science; however I want them to enjoy the investigative process of science. Therefore, I provide my students with many resources, and allow them to make their own hypotheses. If all scientists were just fed information, I might be teaching my students that the world is flat.
Questioning and exploring is the backbone of science, and is the basis of what I want my students to learn. Motivation to learn can not be forced upon a student, however my stealth objective is to convince all my students that science and learning about new things can be great fun. I believe that when a student is having fun, they are then motivated to have more fun, in this case, learn more! With each individual student, my teaching philosophy may evolve, however my dedication toward teaching the individual and learning myself does not waiver.